October/November 2020

Let't not even talk about how late this post is.  Just pretend it's not mid December. 

Poor Abigail inherited a tiny mouth from both Nathan and me.  Way back in January she got expanders on top and bottom.  We crank then once a week to help expand the pallet in her mouth.  She is making great progress.  Then in October she got 8 braces put on her top front teeth.  They make her look WAY to grown up.

                                     

We had to get creative this year for Halloween because we were very hesitant about trick-or-treating.  Of course we already had our idea for our family themed costume....we'll just save it for next year.  Nathan and I made up scavenger hunt clues that led the girls to their buckets of candy.  Then we ordered take out for dinner and ate while watching Nightmare Before Christmas. All in all a fun day!  Our church also put on a fair in their parking lot with games, rides, and fair food.  Everything was social distanced, hand sanitizer everywhere, and everyone wore masks.  So much fun!

We had to do Thanksgiving differently this year too.  We spent the afternoon with my parents and sister like usual.  But we spent almost the entire time outside and we wore masks except when we were eating.  Thankfully we had beautiful weather so it was really nice.  We put every household at their own separate table for dinner.  We were very thankful for time together even though it looked different.

August/September 2020

 We're still having fun doing puzzles.  Sometimes all three of us work on a 1000 piece and other times the girls do a smaller one together.  They are always surprised how quick the 200-300 piece puzzles are to complete after doing all the harder ones.  😁

School started Aug 13.  Everyone in our district started remotely until after Labor Day.  Then parents had the option to stay virtual or continue face to face. You are allowed to make a change at the end of each 9 week grading period.  The girls are sticking with remote learning through the end of the semester,.  The teachers have worked really hard to make virtual learning much more interactive than in the spring. It's amazing what time to plan will do!  😜  Both girls have been working really hard, they miss their teachers and friends, but have enjoyed more interaction.  We did go ahead and take our traditional back to school pictures even though they haven't actually gone into the building yet.

Now that it's cooling off just a little then girls have gone back to playing outside in the back yard.  My mom came up one day and snapped this SUPER cute picture!

The girls got to spend the night with my parents over Labor Day weekend like they have the last few years.  Nathan and I enjoyed having some time to hang out alone.  Masks were worn and extra precautions were taken, but thankful for a little bit of normalcy.  The girls favorite part of the weekend was getting to play with the two sweet kitties that live in the neighborhood.  They are strays, but several people on the street feed them and take care of them.  They have gotten super friendly and come running for pets and love when they see the girls.  The girls also had fun making an adorable paper kitty craft. 

We decided that since they girls are doing remote learning I would only sub for the teachers who are teaching remote.  I have worked 2 days so far and have another 2 lined up later this week.  It is REALLY weird to teach in an empty classroom.  And there is definitely a learning curve to on-line teaching.  But I am super thankful to get back into the classroom a little bit.

July 2020

We are still mostly hanging out at home to try and stay safe.  We live right on the edge of Allen and Plano and we got lucky that both cities put on a 4th of July fireworks display on different nights.  We had fun watching in the parking lot for the back of Nathan's truck. 

We have always been thankful that my parents have a pool, but ESPECIALLY this summer when we are trying to spend most of out time outside!  The girls are little fishies and just love being in the water.  My mom got some great photos with her underwater camera.

Our church has been doing a hymn sing on the first Sunday night of each month and live streamming it.  Last month they invited the choir and orchestra to attend in person.  We enjoyed singing all those great songs!

This was our 3rd annual Christmas in July.  My mom has gotten really into cookie decorated and has made them for several holidays this year.  That also means she's learned a lot of great new techniques.  She gave us some pointers and I was really pleased to see how much better the girl's (and my) cookies turned out this time.